Emilia Clarke Says 'Game of Thrones' Nearly Ruined Her Hair

Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons. That's the long-winded title that actress Emilia Clarke has come to carry since Games of Thrones premiered in 2011. And perhaps even more famous than her character's name is her long platinum blond hair. But with such gorgeous color, there comes a price, as Clarke explains in a new interview with British Harper's Bazaar.

Turns out, her recent lob is due to the damage caused by bleaching it for the show's final season. "Yes, it is quite short—because my hair was, like, dying!" she said. "So I’ve cut it a little bit shorter. It’s almost the shortest it’s been. I’m honestly trying to grow out the blond, because it’s just killed my hair, and I miss having nice hair!"

While we think her hair is still plenty nice, Clarke is battling with that all-too-familiar trope that many women know so well—you always want the cut/style/texture/color you don't have. "I do like the length but I wish my hair was longer," she continues. "I do bloody love long hair, but then I’m always dreaming of cutting it all off and having a pixie cut—but I don’t know that my face could take it.”

It's unsurprising given the global popularity of the show and how signature her color is that Clarke gets recognized more often as a blond. Although it has its upsides too. "I feel like being this blond is kind of like you’re constantly wearing an accessory. So you can wear all black and be like 'I tried! There you go,' whereas when you’re brunette and wearing all black it’s like, 'Meh,' do you know what I mean?" she said. "But it’s also very difficult because I get recognized a lot more, and I’m less good at dealing with that. So I’m thinking, 'Ah, I’ll go back brown and then maybe be a bit more incognito again!' You clock anyone who’s got this hair color anyway, so you see someone with peroxide blond hair you look, and then [people] go, 'Oh my God, it’s that chick from the show with the dragons’—and then I’m running!"

We thank you, Khaleesi, for the sacrifice of your hair's health and wish it all the best as it recovers. But we're definitely counting the days until we see it onscreen again when Thrones returns in 2019.